Brig. Gen. Marcos
G. SolimanPhilippine Military Academy Superintendent and
Commanding General of the Philippine Army

The Awards and Recognition Committee of Pampanga High
School chose Brigadier General Marcos Gulapa Soliman as the most outstanding
alumnus for military service in 1962 in connection with the school's
Golden Jubilee Celebration.

General Marcos G. Soliman was born on April 25, 1910 in Candaba, Pampanga,
Philippines to the spouses Paulino Soliman, Chief of Police of Candaba
and a descendant of the Soliman royalty of the Kapampangan Kingdom and
the former Concordia Gulapa.

General Marcos G. Soliman was the eldest of ten Gulapa-Soliman siblings.
His sisters and brothers were Paulina, Paterna, Bonifacio, Simon, Luz
Evia, Jose, Maria, Jesus and Lolita. One of his brothers, Bonifacio was
a colonel in the Philippine Air Force. His younger sister, Paterna, a
teacher, and married to former Vice Mayor Abelito L. David of San Fernando
City in Pampanga has also a son who followed his footsteps in the military
service who also rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Philippine
Air Force and commanding general of Region III of the AFP Military Command
in Central Luzon.

The young Marcos G. Soliman attended public schools in his hometown of
Candaba and in the city of San Fernando. He graduated at Pampanga High
School in 1929. One of his famous classmates was Diosdado P. Macapagal
who was elected Philippine president in 1961-1965 after serving as Vice
President of the Philippines in 1957-1961 and representative of the 1st
District of Pampanga in 1949-1957.

General Marcos G. Soliman was also a graduate of the Philippine Military
Academy, the United States Infantry School in Georgia and the United States
Command and General Staff School in Kansas.

A World War II hero, Marcos G. Soliman was in charge of a military command
in Cebu after the fall of Bataan to the Japanese Imperial Forces in 1942.
While leading a band of guerrillas, he was captured later by the Japanese
in Leyte and imprisoned in Manila. He escaped from prison and joined the
Allied Forces in the liberation of the Philippines.

General Marcos G. Soliman's illustrious military career was highlighted
by high and responsible positions including Chief of Plans, Operations
and Training in the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Chief of Staff and
Deputy Commander of the II Military Area; Member of the SEATO Military
Staff Planners; Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy; Commanding
General of the II Military Area; and finally, Commanding General of the
Philippine Army up to his retirement from the military service in 1960.

General Marcos G. Soliman was also appointed as Acting Chief of Police
of the City of Manila prior to his assignment as Chief of the National
Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA).

General Marcos G. Soliman is credited for initiating the organization
of the Philippine Battalion Combat Teams (BCT) and the centralization
of all army schools. As tributes to his distinguished military career,
he was honored by the following awards and decorations: the Distinguished
Service Star (four times); the United States Bronze Star for Valor (two
times); the Order of the Banner and Cloud from Nationalist China; the
Military Merit Medal (four times), and nine military campaign ribbons.

Prior to his death in the seventies, General Marcos G. Soliman was the
Executive Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.

General Marcos G. Soliman married the former Jacoba Braganza who died
in the eighties. Their marriage produced one daughter named Jenny who
now resides with her family in Alaminos, Pangasinan, Philippines. ([email protected]
- (10/19/2001)